Yacht basin copper rules raise questions

Poncho Garcia applies a silicone-epoxy coating on the hull of a 32-foot long sailboat at the Shelter Island Boatyard. The silicone-epoxy coating is being used instead of a copper based coating known to be harmful to marine life.
— Howard Lipin

Poncho Garcia applies a silicone-epoxy coating on the hull of a 32-foot long sailboat at the Shelter Island Boatyard. The silicone-epoxy coating is being used instead of a copper based coating known to be harmful to marine life.
— Howard Lipin

The Shelter Island Yacht Basin is under orders by regulators to reduce copper in its water to a level about 300 times lower than is permitted in drinking water.

The contrast has some critics questioning whether the rule, which is causing boat owners to repaint their hulls with copper-free coatings, is another example of environmental rules going too far.

“If I filled my pool with drinking water, my kids would have a much higher concentration in my pool, than if they were swimming in the bay,” said Port Commissioner Dan Malcolm. “It seems a little odd to me. It doesn’t seem logical.”

Scientists and water regulators say, however, that the disparity between marine rules and drinking water standards reflects the complexities of copper’s reaction in different water conditions, and in different species.

The lower copper levels are needed to protect shellfish, they say. To those organisms, the common metal is poison, lethal at amounts that are trifling to humans, they say.

“The lower on the food chain, the more damage you’ll have,” said Jeremy Haas, environmental program manager for the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, which imposed the rule. “They are more sensitive to those metals (than people are.)”

Protected spots such as Shelter Island have low water flow and high copper buildup, while variations in local water chemistry can affect the metal’s toxicity to sea life.

Water quality rules consider all those factors, said David King, a San Diego attorney who served on the water board from 2006 to 2010.

“Does it sound silly that you’ve got a lower level of copper in the bay than drinking water?” King said. “Sure, but not when you consider what we’re trying to do is keep the bay from being a toxic environment to marine life.”

With a recent $600,000 grant from the State Water Resources Control Board, the San Diego Port Authority aims to nudge Shelter Island boat owners to convert from copper-based paint, used to retard barnacle growth, to newer alternatives. The port also converted its own fleet to copper-free paint last year.

Some boaters say the copper rule goes overboard, arguing that the replacement paints are costly and hard to maintain.

“It’s just very expensive, it’s not diver-friendly and it’s not boatyard friendly,” said Bill Roberts, owner of Shelter Island Boatyard, which handles some of the repainting jobs.

The Shelter Island basin, tucked in the northwest end of the bay, is one of eight marinas in the bay listed as impaired under the Clean Water Act because of elevated copper levels, according to the port authority. It’s the only one, however, under orders to reduce the concentration of copper in its waters.

In 2011, the port measured copper off Shelter Island at 8.3 parts per billion — more than twice the target level of 3.1 parts per billion.

By contrast, the water board limits drinking water to 1,000 parts per billion of copper, a level that protects its taste, odor and color. It would take more than that to sicken a person, officials said.

Shellfish, however, take in more copper and have poor systems for eliminating it, said Jim Meador, a research fishery biologist with National Marine Fisheries Service.

“Invertebrates are not as good at regulating, so it takes much less to kill them,” he said.

Hass said that’s what makes copper so effective at inhibiting growth on boat hulls. The paint slowly leaches copper, killing off algae and barnacles. The metal released remains in the water and seafloor, though.

“It’s toxic to what grows on the boat, which is the point, but it’s also toxic to unintended targets in the sediment,” Haas said.

In 2005, the water board issued a rule requiring the basin to reduce copper by more than three quarters over 17 years, in order to meet standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

In 2011, the Port Authority received the state grant to help boat owners convert to copper-free paint, and last fall it increased the amount it pays to persuade more boat owners to participate. Coastkeeper Orange County received a similar grant for $213,000 to repaint boat hulls at Newport Harbor, said Tim Moran a spokesman for the state Water Resources Control Board.

To date, three San Diego boats have been repainted under the program and seven more are in the works, port spokeswoman Marguerite Elicone said. The funding could help pay for repainting of up to 100 boats, said environmental program manager Karen Holman.

The port is also trying to educate boaters about paint options, urging those outside the basin to make the switch on their own.

Copper-based paint replaced an even more toxic predecessor, Tributyltin, which Meador said is harmful to marine life in parts per trillion, and was banned five years ago. The newest coatings cost about two to three times the price of older varieties, and have generated mixed reviews from boaters.

Roberts, whose boatyard is repainting a number of vessels, said the newer paint is difficult to apply and requires more frequent and careful maintenance.

Port officials said, however, that the paints they’ve tested are long-lasting and easy to care for.

“Some people are thrilled, they think they work great, and don’t need any more maintenance than the copper-based paint,” Holman said.

She said several companies have each voluntarily converted at least one boat. And Brad Engel, vice president of Flagship Cruises and Events, said his company converted its entire fleet in 2011, noting that the newest copper-free paint formulas hold up in the water.

“It was better for the bay, better for the environment,” he said. “It’s getting to the same levels and durability of the copper paints.”

The Navy has investigated options for its ships, but hasn’t found a copper-free paint that meets all its criteria for cost and performance, said William Franklin, environment spokesman for the Navy Region Southwest.

Andy Kurtz, owner of Seaforth Boat Rentals, which runs a fleet of about 150 recreational boats, said the range of options are confusing, and place an unfair burden on boaters. If copper-based paint it toxic to sea life, he said, it shouldn’t be sold.

A bill introduced by State Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, to ban copper-based hull paint failed last year, but a similar bill introduced recently by Assemblywoman Toni Atkins, D-San Diego would take up the issue again in narrower terms, requiring state regulators to study alternatives to copper paint.

“If it’s that important, it should be done through regulations,” Kurtz said. “Don’t sell a product that’s bad for the environment.”